Author's Note: This is the shortest chapter so far; but I wanted to make up for the absurd length between updates I've been slipping into. Also, I'll either be updating very frequently or not at all for the next few weeks; I'm not sure yet which approach I'll be taking to finals and packing and such. So I hope you enjoy! Reviews are, as always, greatly appreciated!
Admiring the grounds was not nearly as difficult as she would have supposed – it was as beautiful as ever, and some parts of it were unfamiliar
Admiring the grounds was not nearly as difficult as she would have supposed – it was as beautiful as ever, and some parts of it were unfamiliar. It was different, though whether for better or worse she couldn't say, to see Hogwarts without the Whomping Willow – with the forest creeping up on the groundskeeper's cabin, almost engulfing it.
She was mildly irritated, admittedly, to not have the time to herself as she had planned. Having to be good company got old rather quickly – she had counted on being able to take a break, to thoroughly not think about anything she didn't want to, to think about everything that she wouldn't allow herself to under most circumstances.
But being with Tom was, as always, generally preferable to not being with Tom, at least as far as the whole "saving the world" thing was concerned. So she minded her temper – it wasn't as hard as it had been just earlier that week. Maybe she was adjusting, the stress wasn't getting to her quite as much. She almost laughed, had to stifle it before it even started to come out; that wasn't something she could explain, and didn't want Tom to think her completely insane. More likely, she thought, the stress had already gotten to her far too effectively; she was just past feeling any of it.
Their walk ended without too much having been said. Hermione complimented the Hogwarts grounds, constantly in apparent awe of the beauty. Tom seemed pleased with that, and made sure to show her the best parts of it, always very much the gentleman. She could almost see, sometimes, how it was that nobody caught on to the fact that he was so much more than he ever revealed. If she hadn't known who she was dealing with, she was able to admit that she wouldn't have known the difference.
When they had gotten back to the castle, however, it occurred to Hermione that she didn't know what she was going to be doing next. It occurred to her moments later that the way she felt required to account for all of her time when she wasn't with Tom was completely absurd – she was, after all, not in any way (that he knew of, at least) required to spend any of her time with him at all. She could go off and snog Charles Black in any deserted corridor she desired, and Tom Riddle wouldn't have a single valid complaint about it.
She remembered the advice that Parvati had given her once – completely unprovoked, as always. Boys like a little mystery, Hermione. What use she thought Hermione would ever have for that priceless tidbit was another mystery altogether. Hermione hadn't been interested in anyone besides Ron since fourth year, and that boy thought that a flock of canaries to the face was too mysterious.
Riddle, however, would probably get the hint – and maybe a bit of mystery would do him well. She wouldn't take it too far, of course, as it just wouldn't do for him to think that she wasn't interested, but… Her life would be made significantly easier if she didn't have to deal with him every minute of every day.
"Goodbye, Tom," she said simply – though with a smile. She then walked off, in the direction of the Slytherin common room, hoping to any god who was listening that he would get the hint and not follow her.
Luck was, just this once, with her. She didn't hear his footsteps come after her – and she was listening as hard as she possibly could – and she didn't hear his footsteps going anywhere else, either. Whether he was just being polite and giving her some time to get away before going back to the common room, or whether he was actually trying to figure out why she had departed so suddenly, she would never know; and to be perfectly honest, she didn't think she cared either way. The fact was, she had finally managed to scrape a minute to herself – a minute to just sit and be, without being social and pleasant, or hardworking and studious.
The problem was, she didn't know what to do with herself. In the past – or future – when she had unexpected free time, she took advantage of it as extra time to study; however at that moment, additional studying was more or less the least appealing pastime she could think of. A walk around the grounds had been her original design, but as that plan had already backfired once in the day, she didn't feel inclined to further press her luck with it. As for other friends… to be perfectly honest she couldn't say that she had any left. She hadn't seen Elizabeth since the previous night, and she was fairly certain that Tom's offense would not have been forgotten that quickly. And Charles…
Tom's threat had been very scarcely veiled, and she had to imagine that even before his official rise as a Dark Lord, there were not many people familiar with him that would not have bowed to such a command.
And so Hermione was as alone as she had ever been, after finally having managed to escape Tom's company. Even with Tom, actually, she still felt rather alone – acting at least ninety percent of the time, watching her responses and his with equal vigor. However, such was life when trying to save the world from a threat that hadn't reached anything like its peak yet; nobody could fight beside her, nobody could even know what she was trying to do, because if she tried telling anyone, they would think her rather insane and would likely try to have her committed to St Mungo's.
After all of this, Hermione decided that she had most definitely earned a nap. Not a long one, certainly, as if she slept for too long, she would be presented with difficulties come nighttime; but a short one, maybe an hour or two at the most, wouldn't do her any harm. So she went into the dormitory, found her bed, and laid down; she was fast asleep within five minutes.